i think as all of you have seen, over the last several years the obama administration, in really a bipartisan spirit, has sought to step up our game in the asia-pacific region, to increase our diplomatic, our commercial, our strategic and our political interactions really across the board. and when we think about it -- it's been termed either the pivot or rebalancing -- a key component of that is frankly our desire to improve and increase our interactions and our relationship with china. we all recognize its importance on the global stage. and frankly, the region and the world demands that the united states and china make an extraordinary effort to make sure that our relationship is strong and stable and predictable. you referred to this long history of what are often referred to as hegemonic transitions. one of the things i would say is that the leadership on both sides has the benefit of that history, to look at missteps that have been taken in the past. and there is a very clear determination on both sides to ensure that where we compete, we compete peacefully and that we seek always to st